They are the last line of defense, the crazy ones, the fashion standouts and the girls who bear the weight of 40 pounds of cumbersome equipment and often the hopes of their teams.

They are field hockey goalies.

"I like being the goalie,'' said Rondout Valley senior Gabrielle Waterman. "It is really scary, but I am glad that I am a goalie. I don't think I could handle being a field player because being a goalie, I feel like I have more control. I am my own worst enemy. I can dictate how I play.''

Many field hockey players don't gravitate to the position — they are usually drafted, like Waterman. But once they get over the initial fears of having small, hard balls rocketed in their direction, and learning to cope with the bulky safety equipment, they tend to embrace the job.

"I do what I have to do,'' Waterman said. "They threw me these pads, and I just make it work.''

"When you get in that goal everyone is after you,'' said Ellenville senior goalie Erin Brown. "That's the mentality — they want that goal, and you have to be able to protect it and move and do whatever you have to do to get there.''

"You have to get your head in a game,'' said Ellenville senior goalie Justine Hamilton. "It's hard because they are going for you, but you have to focus and really key in on every single player on the field and know what they are doing. You have to have a lot of trust in your girls. And you have to watch the ball. When the ball comes, you have to relax but you have to go for it.''

Waterman used to play football as a youngster, so the rough play in close quarters is not what bothers her.

"I didn't want to let my team down by letting them score any goals,'' she said. "That was my biggest fear.''

These days the safety equipment is much better. Goalies wear padded shorts, shin guards, kick boots, a chest protector, neck guard, helmet and hand mitts that resemble large oven mitts. Waterman is so used to it she believes the gear weighs just 6 or 7 pounds, but it's closer to 40. For someone just 5 feet tall, like Brown, that's a lot, but Hamilton is 5-foot-6.

"I am a firefighter, so this doesn't affect me at all,'' Hamilton said.

It wasn't too long ago when safety gear resembled that of ice hockey goalies.

Throw in a sunny field and about 90 minutes of game time from start to finish and it's easy to imagine how difficult the position can be.

"You feel hot, but you just have to keep pushing through,'' said Brown, who encourages drinking plenty of water. "If you get tired just take a deep breath and go through it. In the end it will be all worth it. When you go home, sit in the air conditioning and you're good.''

The goalies say the equipment feels snug but gives them enough mobility to move around.

"The more you practice in it, the more you get better,'' Hamilton said. "I feel like it's my safety blanket.''

Of course, no goalie is completely safe from getting hit.

"Sometimes if I turn my leg a certain way, I get hit where there is no padding,'' Brown said. "So it's like, 'All right, I just have to shake it off and get right back in there.' "

The best part of playing goalie might be the colorful, often tie-dyed jerseys they get to wear, unlike the plain shirts of the field players.

"I gotta say I am liking these colors,'' Hamilton smiled.

That's about the only thing field players envy about goalies. On occasion, the netminders ask their teammates if they'd like to don the equipment and get shot upon.

"I get, 'You go, girl!' and a little encouragement,'' Hamilton said. "We've had a couple girls try, but we're still the goalies.''

Sometimes playing an unenviable position can make a player feel like a superhero.

"My friends are like, 'Oh my god,' " Waterman said. "The funniest things I got was I look like Optimus Prime from 'Transformers' and I look like the Michelin tire man. I like the Optimus Prime. Sometimes I do feel like a Transformer.''